managing crisis and emergency situations

Managing Crisis andEmergency Situations

By Patricia L. Scheifler, MSW, PIPPeter J. Weiden, MD, Editor-in-ChiefMarcy Portnoff Gever, RPh, MEd, Educational Editor

A guide for families and friends

Team Solutions

N E U R O S C I E N C E T R E A T M E N T T E A M P A R T N E R P R O G R A M

S O L U T I O N S F O R W E L L N E S S G R O U P P R O G R A M

About the AuthorPatricia L. Scheifler, MSW, PIP, is Director of Partnership for Recovery. She specializesin helping mental health professionals develop and improve their treatment services forpeople who are recovering from serious mental illness. Ms. Scheifler lectures at nationalmeetings and presents workshops on how to manage serious mental illnesses. Partnershipfor Recovery can be reached at (205) 933-0735.

Editor-in-ChiefPeter J. Weiden, MD, is Associate Professor of Clinical Psychiatry at ColumbiaUniversity, and Director of the Neurobiologic Disorders Service at St. Luke’s–RooseveltHospital in New York City. Dr. Weiden specializes in the public health aspects of medica-tion treatment for people with schizophrenia.

Educational EditorMarcy Portnoff Gever, RPh, MEd, is Medical Manager at Hastings OutcomesManagement in Pennington, NJ, where she oversees the development of patient-directedprograms dedicated to optimizing treatment outcomes. Ms. Gever specializes in patienteducation and is a columnist and author of numerous publications.

Advisory BoardKim T. Mueser, PhDAssociate Professor, Psychiatry,Dartmouth Medical School

Henry A. Nasrallah, MDChairman, Department of Psychiatry,Professor of Psychiatry and Neurology,The Ohio State University College of Medicine

Patricia L. Scheifler, MSW, PIPDirector, Partnership for Recovery,Birmingham, AL

Peter J. Weiden, MDDirector, Neurobiologic Disorders Service,St. Luke’s–Roosevelt Hospital,and Associate Professor of Clinical Psychiatry,Columbia University

Laurie M. FlynnExecutive Director, National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI)

Don Fowls, MDSr. Vice President, National Medical Director,Options, Norfolk, VA

William Knoedler, MDDirector of Outpatient Services,Mendota Mental Health Institute,and Unit Chief, PACT Program,Madison, WI

Kimberly Littrell, APRN, CSPresident & CEO, Promedica, Inc.,Tucker, GA

Margarita LópezTeam Leader, Center Park Team,Project Reach Out, New York, NY

Managing Crisis andEmergency Situations

Team Solutions | Workbook 10 Managing Crisis and Emergency Situations

Contents

2 Introduction

3 Practice Makes Better (Not Perfect)

4 Managing Crisis and Emergency Situations

6 Stage One: Attitude Changes

8 Stage Two: Early Warning Symptoms

10 Crisis Prevention

14 Stage Three: Crisis

15 Common Crisis Situations

16 Crisis Intervention

22 Stage Four: Emergency

23 Emergency Intervention

29 Stage Five: Closure

32 Making a Crisis and Emergency Management Plan

38 Planning, Practice, and Perseverance

1


Introduction

This booklet is written for family members and friends of people who arerecovering from a mental illness, such as:

• Schizophrenia

• Schizoaffective Disorder

• Manic Depression (bipolar disorder)

• Major Depression

Coping with the day-to-day problems created by a mental illness can be very stressful for everyone involved. Crisis and emergency situations are often overwhelming, if not devastating. As family members and friends, it’s important for us to know how to manage these crisis andemergency situations.

Practical ToolsThe purpose of this booklet is to offer a collection of practical tools that you can use to manage crisis and emergency situations. As you know,a single tool cannot fit every situation or work well with every individual.Choose the ones that fit your situation and are likely to work well withthe people in your life.

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Practice Makes Better (Not Perfect)

Using new tools usually feels odd and uncomfortable for a while. The same is true for the tools presented in this booklet. You may feel strange oruncomfortable the first few times you use them. That’s normal. Practicethem often, and give yourself plenty of time to get comfortable with them.

“I tried that once”There will be times you use one of these tools and you won’t get the resultsyou’d hoped for. You may be tempted to say to yourself “Well, I tried thatonce and it didn’t work!” Do it again—practice and perseverance are thekeys to success.

Practice in times of peaceYou’ll be much more effective and confident in times of trouble if youbegin practicing these tools in times of relative peace. Pick out one ortwo of the tools that look the easiest and most useful to you. Practice untilyou’ve mastered them and you’re comfortable using them. Then master theothers, one or two at a time.

“I could have used tool X”Take time to think after you’ve dealt with a typical daily problem. For awhile, you’ll probably realize you went back to your old habits instead ofpracticing the new tools you wanted to use. That’s the first step in learning to use new tools. Avoid putting yourself down or giving up. Think aboutwhich tool you could have used in that situation. Make a plan to use it at the next opportunity. Be patient with yourself. Developing new habits takestime and patience.

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Managing Crisis and Emergency Situations

As a family member or friend of a person with a mental illness, you may have been through many crisis and emergency situations. You may havewondered if there was anything you could have done to prevent thosesituations. Perhaps not. But now that you know what to expect, you can use that experience to prepare yourself for the next time. In fact, you may be able to handle these situations more easily in the future, and evenprevent them. The first step is to understand whether the situation is serious.An overview of the stages may help you recognize how close you may be to a crisis or emergency situation and things you can do to prevent it.Greater detail about each stage will follow.

Stage One: Attitude ChangesIn this stage, you may notice abrupt changes in your family member’s attitudeand behavior. He or she may eat or sleep irregularly, smoke more thanusual, or skip doses of medication. These are all clues that your familymember may be getting into trouble. This stage is a “pre-crisis” stage—it’s agood time to alert the doctor so you can take action to avoid a crisis situation.

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Stage 1Attitude Changes

Stage 3Crisis

Stage 4Emergency

Stage 2Early Warning Symptoms

Stage 5Closure


Stage Two: Early Warning SymptomsEarly warning symptoms are a signal that a crisis is about to occur. Yourfamily member or friend may not be aware that he or she needs treatmentand may become less cooperative. He or she may be having a flare-up ofhallucinations and delusions. Many clients stop taking their medication inthis stage. This is the time to start Crisis Prevention. Your goal now is tokeep the early warning symptoms from developing into a crisis.

Stage Three: CrisisEarly warning symptoms usually develop into a crisis, and relapse mayoccur if Crisis Prevention isn’t used or isn’t effective. Start Crisis Interventionas soon as the crisis occurs. Get professional help as soon as possible. Yourgoal is to avoid an emergency situation.

Stage Four: EmergencyIf Crisis Intervention isn’t used, or isn’t effective, the crisis usually getsworse over time. Without effective management, the crisis can escalate to an emergency—your family member or friend may start doing thingsthat can be dangerous. Your goal is to prevent harm or injury while you get immediate professional help.

Stage Five: ClosureOnce the emergency is over, it’s time to watch for an opportunity to getclosure. Getting closure after an emergency helps mend relationships andrelieve tension. Skipping this stage is likely to damage the relationships ofthe people who went through the emergency. Your goal is to bring peopleback together again and promote healing.

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Stage One: Attitude Changes

In this “pre-crisis” stage, changes in attitude and behavior may be verysubtle at first. For example, your family member or friend may feel “cured”from this illness and may believe that medication and doctor appointmentsare no longer necessary. Watch for changes in his or her habits, mood,attitudes, and behavior.

Listed below are examples of attitude changes—be aware if your familymember or friend starts:

• Missing scheduled appointments with mental health professionals

• Complaining about having to take medication

• Saying medication isn’t needed or isn’t working; doesn’t refill prescription

• Skipping or forgetting to take doses of medicine

• Voicing new complaints about side effects even though medications have not been changed

• Doing less than usual during the day

• Making too many changes at once (e.g., moving into an apartment and starting a job at the same time)

• Consuming more caffeine-containing foods and beverages than usual

• Smoking more than usual

• Talking about or taking diet pills

• Spending time with people who drink or use street drugs

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Your family member or friend is vulnerable during this time. A crisis situationmay be close but can be avoided with help. You may want to keep track ofyour family member’s or friend’s attitude and behavior changes on a dailybasis—that way you’ll be able to describe these changes to the doctor, casemanager, or other member of the treatment team.

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Planning Ahead With Mental Health Professionals

This is the time to speak with mental health professionals about what to do if symptoms begin to worsen. Confidentiality policies may be astumbling block for families seeking help for a loved one who is headedtoward a crisis situation. Discuss the confidentiality policy with mentalhealth professionals during a time of peace. Find out what you are ableto do, and set up a plan should a crisis or emergency situation occur.


Stage Two: Early Warning Symptoms

Early warning symptoms are the first clue that a crisis has started. At first,your family member may have trouble sleeping and may stop taking his orher medication. After several days or weeks, your family member may be unreasonable or on the verge of losing control. See if you recognize thisstage by the descriptions of symptoms below:

Trouble sleepingSudden changes in sleep habits signal that a crisis situation may be near:

• Stays up at night and sleeps most or all of the day

• Stays awake for 24 hours or longer

• Goes to bed at a reasonable time, but can’t get to sleep for hours

• Goes to sleep easily, but wakes up during the night and can’t get back to sleep

Symptoms returnYour family member may tell you that his or her “average symptoms”are getting worse or that new symptoms are occurring:

• Has difficulty concentrating

• Forgets things more often than usual

• Starts hearing voices

• Starts seeing things that aren’t there

• Believes ideas that clearly are not true

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Stops medicationPeople who stop their medication can become very ill within a few days orweeks. The chemical imbalance related to their symptoms gradually beginsto take over again. Be alert to this warning symptom—you may be able totake action at this point to offset a crisis.

Other changes in daily habitsA sudden change in dress, grooming, eating, or social habits is the first signof crisis for some people. Watch to see if your family member or friend:

• Starts to act fearful, anxious, depressed, or frightened for no apparent reason

• Begins to neglect personal grooming

• Changes his or her attitude toward treatment (e.g., refuses to see the doctor and other health care providers)

• Stops eating

• Wears flamboyant clothes or makeup

• Says or does unusual or strange things

These problems signal a need to begin Crisis Prevention. The goal is torecognize early warning symptoms and prevent the situation from worseninginto a crisis situation.

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Crisis Prevention

Crisis Prevention is what you do to keep a crisis from occurring. If you ever did anything to prevent a potential problem in the past, you can say that you’ve done Crisis Prevention!

Using Effective Crisis Prevention Tools Each situation is unique. So you may find that some tools fit your situation better than others. Below is a comparison of “less effective”and “more effective” tools you could use when a problem arises.

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Arguing and confronting

Getting angry and losing your temper

Being critical

Explaining and giving information

Changing the subject

Showing understanding and exploring likely outcomes

Discussing the situation calmly

Giving constructive feedback

Listening and asking questionsthat lead to better decisions

Encouraging discussion

– Less Effective Tools More Effective Tools+


Better to Show Understanding

Arguing and confronting:“You quit taking your medicine before and that was a total disaster! Youknow you’re just going to get sick again! Why in the world would you wantto do that to yourself again?!”

Showing understanding and exploring likely outcomes:“Even though it’s understandable that people get tired of taking medicineevery day, how will you feel if you choose to stop taking it? Taking themedicine is up to you, but the last time you stopped taking your medicineyou ended up in the hospital. I’d sure hate to see that happen again.”

Remain as Calm as Possible

Getting angry and losing your temper:“I told you yesterday that you had an appointment to see the doctor today at 10:00 AM (starting to raise your voice and yell). It’s your responsibility to get yourself to your appointments! I can’t handle everything for you andmanage the rest of the family too! It’s time you got your act together!”

Discussing the situation calmly:“The mental health center called and said you missed your doctor’sappointment today. Let’s talk about what got in the way of keeping theappointment so we can work out ways to help you keep the next one.”

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Constructive Feedback Is More Helpful

Being critical:“You should stop being so lazy and find something to do…All you do iswatch TV and smoke cigarettes all day like a complete bum…Get up anddo something to help around the house.”

Giving constructive feedback:“Let’s work out a schedule of things you can do each day. Doing interesting,fun, or useful things will help you recover. You might feel better if you staybusy and accomplish a few things each day.”

Let Your Family Member or Friend Do the Talking

Explaining and giving information:“You’ve got to quit hanging out with that crowd and make some newfriends. You know you can’t drink alcohol. It makes your symptoms worseand keeps your medication from working. If you go back to drinking,you’ll relapse and end up in the hospital again.”

Listening and asking questions that lead to better decisions:“I know you were glad to get out of the house yesterday. Did you enjoy seeingyour friends? What happened that you ended up drinking? What could youhave done instead? That’s one idea, what else could you have done in thatsituation? What happened before when you were drinking?”

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Practice and perseverance are the keys to success.

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Encourage DiscussionThere may be certain situations in which changing the subject can beconstructive. However, encouraging discussion is a more desirable approachthat’s likely to lead to better overall results.

Changing the subject:“Well, I don’t see any side effects. What do you want for lunch?”

Encouraging discussion:“You know, I didn’t notice that side effect until you mentioned it. Whendid it start bothering you? It would be a good idea to call your doctor.Do you need any help from me?”

Practice ExerciseWrite an example of how you could practice one of the five effective Crisis Prevention tools during times of peace:

Situation you have encountered:

Your response (more effective tool):

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Remember to practice in times of peace.


Stage Three: Crisis

There are several ways you could end up in a crisis situation:

• There weren’t any early warning symptoms, and the crisis just suddenly happened

• The time between the first warning symptom and the crisis was so short that there wasn’t time to do anything

• You thought the warning symptom wasn’t serious, and you just decided to wait and watch

• You worked hard on crisis prevention, but the crisis happened anyway

You know you’re in a crisis when:

• You see the early warning symptoms become more serious problems

• Things begin to take a turn for the worse

• You find yourself saying: “Uh-oh. Here we go again,” because you know from experience that the situation will get out of control in a matter of time

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Common Crisis Situations

You know a crisis situation is near when your family member or friend:

Does things that could be dangerous• Walks the streets alone late at night

• Gets into cars with total strangers

• Accidentally leaves the stove or oven on

• Carelessly burns things while smoking or lighting cigarettes

Gets verbally agitated• Yells and curses at people

• Becomes angry over small problems

• Overreacts to frustrations that are usually handled calmly

• Ridicules other people and calls them nasty or offensive names

Expresses paranoia directed at family, friends, or others People who are feeling paranoid might:

• Say a neighbor is breaking in at night and stealing things

• Accuse family members of poisoning their food

• Say a certain person is against them, or is planning to hurt or kill them

• Accuse a friend of being a spy or government agent, working with thepolice, or being in the CIA

• Say a family member is controlling their mind or putting thoughts in their head

People who have these thoughts strongly believe these false ideas and may tell people their unusual beliefs. Because the warning system in their brainisn’t working right, it may alarm the person, even though there’s no realdanger. If they really believe their life is in danger, they might attack theperson they fear. This is the time to start Crisis Intervention.

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Crisis Intervention

Crisis Intervention is what you do to keep a crisis from becoming anemergency. If you’ve dealt with a crisis in the past, then you’ve done Crisis Intervention.

Using Effective Crisis Intervention ToolsThe Crisis Intervention tools build on the tools you learned about in theCrisis Prevention section. Both sets of tools should be used to manage acrisis. Again, some of these tools may fit your situation better than others.Practice the ones that seem the easiest and most helpful first.

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– Less Effective Tools More Effective Tools+Being an adversary

Alienating the person

Threatening

Escalating the problem

Taking things personally

Being an ally

Encouraging time to unwind

Setting reasonable limits

Easing the problem

Being objective


Let Them Know You’re an Ally

Being an adversary:You’re an adversary when people think you’re against them, or when youforce them to do something they don’t want to do.

“Get up out of that bed and come spend time with your family! You haven’tleft your room all day. Get up this minute and don’t start giving me anyexcuses either!”

Being an ally:You’re an ally when they understand you’re on their side—you expressconcern, listen, discuss, and compromise instead of forcing them to do things.

“Sally, I’m really concerned about you. You’ve been in your room all day and I believe that’s unusual for you. Is there anything I can help with?”

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Remember to practice using new tools instead of trying them once and giving up.


Encourage “Time Out” to Calm Down

Alienating the person:“I’m not going to talk with you if you keep acting like that. You’re beingcompletely irrational, and I can’t deal with you when you’re like this.”

Encouraging time to unwind:“I can see that you’re pretty upset right now. Maybe you need some quiettime and personal space. I’ll go in the other room for a while and give youtime to unwind and calm down. We can talk about this again when we’reboth feeling better, if you’d like.”

Set Reasonable Limits

Threatening:“If you don’t stop walking in the park by yourself after dark, I’m going toget you put back in the state hospital! That’s crazy behavior and you’regoing to get yourself killed!”

Setting reasonable limits:“It seems like you were restless and had trouble sleeping last night. Myconcern is that the park isn’t safe after dark and you could get attackedthere at night. Well, let’s come up with some other solution, because Ibelieve it might be unsafe to walk in the park after dark. It’s just toodangerous. I don’t want you to risk getting hurt. What could you dothat’s safer?”

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Ease the Problem

Escalating the problem:You know you’re escalating the problem when the other person gets moreupset. Sometimes family and friends escalate a problem without meaning to.

“That just doesn’t make any sense! Why would I want to put poison inyour food? I’m your mother and I love you! What in the world put thatcrazy idea in your head? Stop this nonsense and eat your dinner!”

Easing the problem:You know you’re easing the problem when the other person starts calming down.

“I can see that you really believe the food is poisoned. You must be veryfrightened by that. I understand that you don’t trust me right now. I’m sureyou can find something in the kitchen that you’ll feel safe eating. Whateveryou choose will be fine.”

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Do not do Crisis Intervention alone. Contact a mental healthprofessional. A medication adjustment may be needed to prevent an emergency.


Take an Objective Approach

Taking things personally:“I can’t believe it! My own husband calling me a cheat and a liar! I won’tlisten to your filthy mouth any longer! I’ll never forgive you for speaking to me this way!”

Being objective:“I know you’re very upset right now, or you wouldn’t be saying these things.You don’t usually talk to me this way. Let’s both calm down and we cantalk again later. I’d like to discuss this when we can talk calmly withoutyelling, cursing, and calling each other names.”

Write an example of how you could practice one of the five effective Crisis Intervention tools during times of peace:

Situation you have encountered:

Your response (more effective tool):

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Planning AheadSome families have said that it’s hard to get help from mental healthprofessionals until there’s a serious crisis. That’s a real dilemma forfamilies to cope with. There are times when nothing they do seems tohelp, and they don’t want to wait around for a serious crisis tohappen. Make a backup plan with other people who are willing tohelp during Crisis Prevention and Crisis Intervention. Enlist the helpof relatives, a minister, or close friends. Sometimes a sibling or bestfriend may be more successful than a parent in helping the personcalm down. Work out a plan that everyone can agree on. Do thisduring peaceful times so that you’ll be prepared if a crisis occurs.


Stage Four: Emergency

An emergency is when there is immediate danger of harm, injury, death,or destruction of property. Your goal is to keep yourself and others safe and get help as quickly as possible. You are in an emergency situation when your family member or friend:

• Makes verbal threats

• Shows physical aggression toward people or objects

• Threatens or attempts self-harm or suicide

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Emergency Intervention

Emergency Intervention is what you do to keep someone from getting hurt.You need to ensure safety while waiting for help to arrive or taking theperson where help is. Your goal is to keep the person as calm as possibleand prevent injury to yourself and others. Don’t handle the problem alone.Get friends or family to help you take the person to an emergency room,call a mental health professional, or call the police. Below are tools fordealing with anger, aggression, and threats.

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Being cornered

Standing within striking distance

Hands occupied

Face front with weight on one foot

Keeping an exit available

Standing out of reach

Hands free

Angle body and balance weight



Don’t Get Cornered

Being cornered:If the person who is angry, agitated, and threatening is between you andthe only exit—you could be in physical danger. You won’t be able to getpast the person to get to the door.

Keeping an exit available:Position yourself so you can leave the room safely and go for help. At thesame time, be careful not to corner someone who is angry or paranoid. Ifpossible, position yourself so the door is accessible to both of you.

Allow Enough Space

Standing within striking distance:If you stand over or within reach of someone who is angry, agitated, orthreatening, you put yourself in danger. If the person can take one step and hit or kick you, then you are too close.

Standing out of reach:Keep your distance if the person is angry, agitated, and threatening.Position yourself so you can’t be hit or kicked if the person takes one step.Do not stand over the person or make direct eye contact—this can beperceived as threatening to people who are paranoid. Give the personplenty of personal space to help him or her feel less threatened. Allowingenough space will also help keep you safe.

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Keep Your Hands Free

Hands occupied:When someone is angry, agitated, or threatening, you are more vulnerable if your hands are in your pockets, behind your back, or on your hips. Youmay also seem more threatening to someone who’s paranoid if they can’tsee your hands.

Hands free:Keep your hands relaxed, bend your arms slightly at the elbows, and keepyour hands in front of your thighs. This position will help you protectyourself quickly if needed. It also makes your hands visible so you’re lessthreatening to someone who’s paranoid.

Stand Balanced on Both Feet

Face front with weight on one foot:Standing so you completely face a person who is angry, agitated, orthreatening makes you an easy target to hit or kick. Standing with your weight on one foot can slow you down if you need to get out of the way quickly.

Angle body and balance weight:Stand so that your body is at an angle. This will make it harder for theother person to hit or kick you. Keep your weight balanced on both feet sothat you can move in any direction in a hurry. If you position yourself thisway, you’ll be able to respond quicker and you’ll be safer.

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Wrong Stance for Family Member or FriendMistakes these family members have made:

1. Hands hidden and not ready

2. Weight not evenly distributed on both feet

3. Standing within striking distance

4. Knees are locked

5. Facing person directly (body not angled)

6. Standing so the angry person is blocking the only exit

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Correct Stance for Family Member or Friend1. Both people have equal access to exit

2. Hands are visible and ready

3. Weight is evenly distributed on both feet for quick and easy movement

4. Family member is out of striking distance

5. Knees are slightly bent

6. Body is turned slightly toward exit

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Dealing With Other Types of EmergenciesSelf-neglect to the point that it endangers life (such as refusing to eat)requires professional help. Call a mental health professional and explainthe emergency. Make an appointment for your family member or friend tobe seen by the professional as soon as possible.

Verbal threats of self-harm or suicide should be taken seriously. Call amental health professional immediately. Make an appointment for yourfamily member or friend to be evaluated within 24 hours. Or take theperson to the emergency room. Do not leave him or her alone.

Self-harm and attempted suicide are extreme emergencies. Call anambulance immediately and ask for directions as to what you can do.

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Stage Five: Closure

Getting closure after an emergency means taking time to listen, talk, anddiscuss the emergency experience. You can help family and friends closethe emotional wound and encourage healing.

The timing of this stage is very important. People won’t be ready orreceptive if you attempt to get closure too soon after the emergency is over. On the other hand, relationships will suffer if you never get closure. Getting closure helps release tension and strain in relationshipsand brings people back together again.

Choose a quiet, relaxed time and place to get closure. Include all the familyand friends who were involved in the emergency. Consider asking a mentalhealth professional to join you.


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Placing blame

Setting conditions for love and support

Putting the person on the hot seat

Discussing feelings

Giving unconditional loveand support while setting realistic expectations and limits

Discussing lessons learned by all



Discuss Feelings

Placing blame:“That was the worst thing that’s ever happened to this family! I hope younever do that again!”

Discussing feelings:“We’ve certainly been through a frightening and upsetting experience.How are you feeling about it now?”

Be Supportive

Setting conditions for love and support:“If you ever quit taking your medication again, you will no longer be considered a member of this family. We will not tolerate that behavior again!”

Giving unconditional love and support while setting realistic expectationsand limits:“I will always love you and care about you. No matter how severe yoursymptoms become, or what mistakes either of us make, we can work itout together. But I insist that you take your medicine every day. Are youwilling to agree to this?”

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–

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Discuss What Has Been Learned

Putting the person on the hot seat:“Well, you certainly got yourself into a real mess that time! I sure hopeyou’re going to do something different from now on so it doesn’t happenagain! I hope you learned your lesson!”

Discussing lessons learned by all:“I learned some important lessons last week. I’m not going to threaten tothrow you out of the house anymore. That’s no way to treat you when youdo something I don’t agree with. It was a mistake on my part. I’m sorry Idid that. How about you, did you learn any lessons?”

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Choose one of the three effective skills above and begin practicing them now so they’ll be easy and comfortable to use after the next emergency.


Making a Crisis and Emergency Management Plan

Making a plan in times of peace will help you be more confident the nexttime problems occur. It’s usually a good idea to involve others in the planningprocess. You get a better plan when you create it with family members,close friends, professionals, and the person who is recovering. Joint planningworks better, and resolving problems can be less stressful for everyone.Just think of each “you” in the following questions as meaning all of you.

Crisis Prevention Plan1. Based on experience, what early warning symptoms do you need to

respond to quickly?

2. What Crisis Prevention tools will you use?

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3. What tools won’t you use because they probably won’t help?

4. When will you ask for help? I (we) will ask for help if:

5. Whom will you ask for help? List more than one person:

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Crisis Intervention Plan1. Based on your experience, what kind of crisis might occur if the

Crisis Prevention plan doesn’t work?

2. What Crisis Intervention tools will you use?

3. What Crisis Intervention tools won’t you use?

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4. When will you ask for help with Crisis Intervention? I (we) will ask for help if:

5. Whom will you ask for help with Crisis Intervention? Name at least two people:

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Emergency Intervention Plan1. Based on your experience, what kind of emergency might occur if the

Crisis Intervention plan doesn’t work?

2. What Emergency Intervention tools will you use?

3. What Emergency Intervention tools won’t you use because they probablywon’t be helpful?

4. When will you get help with the emergency?

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5. Whom will you ask for help with the emergency? Name at least twoprofessionals and one family member or friend:

Closure Plan1. How will you know when it’s time to get closure?

2. What closure tools will you use?

3. What closure tools won’t you use because they probably won’t be helpful?

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Planning, Practice, and Perseverance

Sometimes, a crisis or emergency situation cannot be avoided. But byplanning ahead, you’ll be better prepared to take the appropriate action if a crisis or emergency should occur. Practice all the tools—learn them wellso you can choose the most effective ones when you need them. Onceyou’ve mastered the ones that work, and know how to use them effectively,you might feel less overwhelmed by your family member’s or friend’smental illness. Remember to keep practicing—perseverance is the key to success!

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Notes

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managing crisis and emergency situations

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